Firefighter injured in two-alarm Richmond blaze

RICHMOND -- One firefighter suffered a back injury during a two-alarm fire that spread through storage units and parts of a commercial building Saturday night.

At about 8 p.m., Richmond firefighters responded to the 1400 block of Macdonald Avenue where a section of four storage units behind the building had caught fire, according to Battalion Chief Merlin Turner.

The fire had spread from the rear of the storage units to an old commercial brick building, which houses businesses including a barber shop and a meeting hall. The building was heavily engulfed in flames when firefighters got on scene, Turner said.

An Alcoholics Anonymous group was meeting in part of the building, but everyone got out of the building safely, Turner said.

During setup to try and combat the blaze, one firefighter suffered a back injury, Turner added. He was taken to Kaiser Permanente Richmond Medical Center, where he remained as of late Saturday night.

Turner said he was unsure of the extent of the injuries of the firefighter, but that he had spoken with him on his cell phone around 10:30 p.m.

As of 11 p.m., firefighters were still on scene cleaning up and making sure the fire was completely extinguished.